Hey guys! I know I’ve been gone a loooong time. I’ve been ill, so basically ended up taking a month off. It was a month I could sore afford to lose, but hey–I’m better now. Anyway, to celebrate (and to make up for the fact that I haven’t been around), I decided to post a 50-page sample of the story I’m working on right now. Shatterheart is an adult romance (though these chapters are pretty tame) that I’ve variously described as “a weird take on Beauty and the Beast” and “two people in a room, pretty much loathing each other.” Compared to my previous work it’s more emotional and character driven. I’m enjoying it a lot! If I had to jot off some flap copy right now, I guess I’d say...

I’m so excited to finally bring you the title, cover, and synopsis reveal for that Mystery Project I’ve been nattering on about for the past few weeks! (Seriously—I’m electric with excitement. Nervous, but in a good way. I think I understand that whole “my book is my baby” thing that other authors always talk about. I never felt that way with my other books. Not once. I only felt tongue-numbing fear!) I’m currently on vacation out in Seattle, visiting my boyfriend’s family—so I’m going to keep this short and sweet. During the next few weeks I’ll be talking more about my inspiration for this book/series. Since the front cover is finalized (work on the spine and back cover is ongoing), I can also confirm that the ebook release date will be: October 28th,...

Okay, so… that post before? Where I was like, “Sci-fi, coming at you!” I kinda lied. But only because I was mixed-up and shy. I actually have an entire book… finished. Except for the fact that I’m currently tearing the last three chapters apart. It’s the first in a young adult trilogy, and it’s done. The second two books are plotted. The characters are fresh. Thing is, it’s very different from the Dearly series. Oh, it’s still My Thing, through and through. Huge fanged beasts, intelligent insects, pretty dresses. But it’s also softer. Sweeter. It doesn’t have as high a body count. And it’s sort of a pet project, more than anything. It is literally a world I invented to escape into while I was...

For some reason I’ve recently started getting a ton of emails from young people saying, “Hey, this writing thing. It seems awesome. How do you do it?” I have to confess, when I get an email like this my first response is to blink several times and then mutter, “Buh? Hell if I know.” And then I go get more coffee, and I sit down and write a response. I’ve even participated in student writing projects. I’m happy to do what I can and to share what I’ve learned. However, lately it seems all I’m doing is rehashing the same information. I try not to send form responses to emails, as that feels horribly rude – I do my best to answer every email individually. In my mind this includes cutting and pasting something I’ve written before. So obviously, this particular subject...

I was recently asked to write about some of the music included in Dearly, Departed, and how I use music as a writer – thing is, there’s so much to say! There are so many different ways to tackle the topic. Music definitely serves as a huge source of inspiration for me, and has done since I was a child. There are several musical inclusions in D,D, and I’ll talk about two of them in detail (although each one is important!), before chatting a bit about how I use music to feed my characters and actually aid in my writing. This is going to be a long post! Gangstagrass Gangstagrass is mentioned during a party scene in D,D, and is definitely not my own creation. It’s a real, awesome form of music, and if you’re into the show Justified, you’ve probably rocked out...

(Updated May 22nd, 2012.) Hi everyone! I’ve recently seen an increase (yay!) in emails and contacts via my social networking accounts. I am flattered by the attention, ecstatic to meet all of you, and so happy to see such excitement for my work! So, I figured now might be a good time to put out a few caveats concerning my use of email and social networking sites. These are by no means policies set in stone, but perhaps someone can make use of the following information. ARC seekers – Physical ARCs of my books are no longer available. Please watch this post for information on e-galleys of Dearly, Beloved. Contacting Lia Habel Directly 1. Using the contact form on this site is the fastest way to get in touch with me. It goes directly to me, and...